When it comes to the insurance payments leaving your account, things can get out of hand fast. Having multiple policies in place, like homeowners or renters insurance, pet insurance, life insurance, and auto insurance, can make keeping track of your payments a challenge – and missing one is dangerously easy to do.
Play a strong insurance game by managing your insurance payments like a pro – the tips and hacks below won’t just help you do this but could save you some serious cash, too.
Figuring Out What Insurance You Need
First off, you need to work out exactly what insurance you need. Insurance is a vital means of providing both financial protection and peace of mind, and while it may be tempting to skip buying a policy to save money, this may be a very bad move.
However, take a moment to check that something you’re considering getting insured isn’t already covered by another policy you already have. For example, even your pricey items of jewelry may already be covered by your existing homeowners’ insurance – do check this is the case, as there’s likely to be a limit on the value that’s covered.
Get Bundling
Need more than one insurance policy? Then, you’ll be interested to know that one of the ways to lower insurance costs is to bundle a few policies together. But how does this work? Some insurance providers offer the option of purchasing policies including car, renters, homeowners, life, and pet as a bundle, which not only equals much more convenience but can bag you a big saving, too. All you need to do is figure out the nature of the cover you need, and the provider will build a bundle around this to suit your needs.
Bundling insurance policies is a brilliant means of obtaining comprehensive coverage for all your needs at a significantly discounted price. Plus, this is an effective solution when it comes to managing your insurance payments. Rather than having to deal with multiple payments being debited from your account every month – which can be tricky to keep track of – you’ll have just one monthly charge for the bundle. Easy!
Consider Paying Your Premiums Annually
If your budget allows, paying your insurance premiums annually rather than monthly may be a more convenient way of managing your payments. Plus, many insurance providers will apply a discount to your policy if you choose to make a single lump sum payment every year, in the region of 5 -10%, which could equal $100 or more of discount. Paying all of your insurance policies annually could, therefore, net you a significant saving.
Like the idea but can’t manage one large annual payment? Your insurance provider may allow you to pay for your premium in two installments to help make your budget a little more streamlined.
Avoid Missed or Late Payment Fees
Managing your household budget efficiently is the most effective way to avoid the dreaded missed and late payment fees – which can quickly mount up and pre-empt a slide into debt. Why not use a budgeting app to stay on top of things? Many allow you to set reminders and notifications, too, so you can set the app to give you a nudge when it’s time to renew your various insurance policies.
And if the worst happens and you do miss a payment and get charged a fee? It’s always worth contacting your provider to let them know what’s happened (as well as paying the missed amount, of course) and request they waive the fee. They may or may not be willing to accede to your request, but if you’re a loyal customer who has never (or rarely) missed a payment, you might get lucky.
Schedule Regular Assessments
Your insurance requirements will likely change over time, and it’s important that you regularly assess the type of coverage you require and the nature of your payments to ensure you still have adequate coverage – or aren’t overpaying for insurance you no longer need.
Schedule in your calendar a six-monthly or yearly insurance assessment, to go through the policies you have, what they include, and whether the level of coverage they provide remains adequate. There are lots of changes that could affect your monthly premium. For example, fitting additional security systems in your home could reduce your homeowners’ insurance payments.
Making Managing Your Insurance Payments Easy
Taking steps to manage your insurance payments effectively may not be the most exciting task in the world, but it’s an important part of proper household budgeting. Plus, staying on top of your policies and related payments means that you’ll be much less likely to miss a payment and can spot where you could save money by bundling insurance policies, for example. And you can spend that extra cash on something much more exciting.
